Stark Industries (Earth-616)
19th century The company's origins date back to the mid-19th century when Isaac Stark, Sr. began developing new electrical and engineering technology that helped to redefine innovative security measures for the industrial age. 20th century With growing prosperity, Stark Industries (then known as Stark Enterprises) was quickly propelled into the modern era as a major global industrial superpower, due in no small measure to Isaac Stark, Sr.'s direct descendant Howard Stark. Under Howard Stark's leadership, Stark Industries became the world leader in the development of munitions with its corporate office located on Long Island, New York. Stark Industries quickly branched out into other scientific fields including aeronautics, robotics, micro-technology and fringe science. With increasing expansion, the company soon became known as Stark Industries. Hercules was an initial investors in Stark Industries. The original investment was $100,000, but now when the size of the investment was calculated, a second line of zeroes was required. When Howard Stark passed away, his sole heir Tony Stark inherited all of his father's business assets and took full control of Stark Industries. Modern Era Tony Stark continued to aggressively develop new technologies and Stark Industries became a major contractor for both corporate and government concerns. One of Tony Stark's major coups was securing a contract with the military watchdog organization S.H.I.E.L.D. Nearly all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ordnance and equipment is based on Stark technology including their primary base of operations the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Many years ago, Tony Stark conducted a personal weapons inspection in a foreign country when an exploding land mine nearly ended the young billionaire playboy's life. After being held captive for several weeks by revolutionaries, Stark developed a suit of sturdy body armor that not only saved his injured heart, but also enabled him to escape imprisonment. Upon returning to the United States, Tony modified the crude battlesuit, ultimately building what would soon become the recognizable armor of Iron Man. Stark Industries had several lucrative contracts with many financial institutions, as well as S.H.I.E.L.D. Despite his skill as an inventor and businessman, however, Stark's playboy image didn't sit well with many military and political figures. The surly senator Harrington Byrd frequently clashed with Tony over how he ran Stark Industries and performed under the government contracts. Stark International After driving the company to new heights year after year, Tony Stark eventually suffered a crisis of conscience and declared that Stark would no longer produce weapons for SHIELD, the government, or any other parties. As Stark Industries continued to change its public persona and strengthened the corporation's foreign interests, it became known as Stark International. Stane International As part of his ongoing efforts to destroy Tony Stark, Obadiah Stane brought Stark to the edge of financial ruin. On top of the physical and psychological torments heaped upon him, Tony was eventually bought out by Stane, and Stark International was renamed in favor of its new owner. Even after Obadiah Stane's downfall and death, Stane International remained a separate institution from Stark's companies. Justin Hammer covertly acquired control of Stane International for his own dealings until Iron Man forced him to turn the company and its assets back over to Stark. Stark Enterprises After dragging himself out of the bottle, Tony Stark briefly worked with James Rhodes and the Erwin siblings at a small California firm called Circuits Maximus. After Obadiah Stane killed Morley Erwin, and his sister Cly left to join AIM, Stark and Rhodes got to work rebuilding the Stark legacy. Tony soon reopened his business with a new corporation called Stark Enterprises, now based on the West Coast. During the Stark Enterprises days, Tony learned that Stane International had been bought out by Justin Hammer, and forced the billionaire to sign the company back over to him. Unfortunately, Tony then became liable for countless shady business dealings Stane had been involved in, as seen in the event. Stark-Fujikawa Upon Tony Stark's death, Stark Enterprises went up for sale and fell into the hands of a Japanese industrialist family, renaming it Stark-Fujikawa. Stark Solutions After he returned from the Heroes Reborn universe and reestablished his identity, Tony Stark considered trying to reacquire his old assets from Stark-Fujikawa. Ultimately, however, he chose to proceed with his own separate company called Stark Solutions, with a focus on troubleshooting-for-hire to other firms. Stark suffered numerous setbacks after his Iron Man armor became sentient, giving him a case of "techno-phobia" where he relied upon older armor versions instead of creating a new one. He also suffered considerably in the public eye thanks to a media smear campaign initiated by his former friend, Tiberius Stone. After fighting with Stone in the virtual reality DreamVision, Stark retired from the public eye. He dismantled Stark Solutions and gave away his assets to the Avengers or the Maria Stark Foundation. Stark Returns Tony Stark eventually returned to work with the assistance of Trevor Donahue. Another industrialist and target of Tiberius Stone, Donahue passed away and left his company and personal fortune to Tony Stark. Stark used these assets and Donahue Development factories to restart Stark Enterprises. It was also alleged that Stark's previous actions giving away his fortune were the result of a subliminal message implanted in his brain by Stone's DreamVision, although never conclusively proven. When Rumiko finally learned the truth about Tony Stark's relationship with Iron Man, she came to understand the behavior that led to their separation. As reparation, she convinced her grandfather to sell Tony 49% interest in Stark Industries while Fujikawa retained 49% as well. The remaining 2% was in Rumiko's hands, but she willingly gave it back over to Tony without any strings. As a result, Tony Stark once again possessed both the names and assets of all his previous companies: Stark Industries, Stark International, and Stark Enterprises. Dark Reign and Downfall After numerous terrorist attacks perpetuated by Ezekiel Stane, Stark was forced to use an EMP which incapacitated Stane's tech and Stark's own. The company suffered heavy losses, including the research, development, design, and manufacturing hubs. In the wake of Norman Osborn's "Dark Reign," Tony made Pepper Potts the CEO and COO of the company, who sold off everything she could, so Stark Industries existed "as a corporate entity on paper only." When Tony Stark returned into the action, he founded a new company: Stark Resilient. He later passed the reins of the organization to Pepper Potts when he was being targeted by the Mandarin for the sake of the safety of the company's staff. After returning from space, Stark re-founded Stark Industries, and managed his own affairs through it, such as the construction of Troy.Tom Brevoort on Tumblr Locations ''Currently'' Main * Headquarters - New York City Other Locations * Stark Island - Tony Stark's current home. ''Formerly'' Main * Headquarters - California: Located north of Los Angeles, beneath the administration building lies a highly secured sub-basement lab complex. * Main Plant - Flushing, Queens: A two square mile, multibillion dollar complex, on the shore of Long Island Sound that features extensive research and manufacturing facilities and the vast corporate offices that make up the backbone of S.I. ** First Appearance: * Westchester Facility - Westchester County, NY: Proving ground for many of Stark's military designs. Facilities include a large wind-tunnel. ** First Appearance: * Missile Launch Facility - Long Island, NY: Missile Launch site located on the tip of Long Island. ** First Appearance: ** Successful Missile Launch: * Stark Electric Plant, Building #4 - (Queens or Manhattan): Site of a battle between Spider-Man and Electro. ** First Appearance: Other Properties * Washington DC - Tony Stark maintains a small cottage and garage on the outskirts of Washington DC. **'First Appearance:' * Manhattan Penthouse - Tony Stark maintains a luxurious penthouse suite in Manhattan. ** First Appearance: * Long Island Private Estate - Tony Stark had a private seaside estate. It was destroyed by a blast from the Mandarin's killer satellite. ** First Appearance: *'Retreat', Los Angeles, CA *'Smart House', Evergreen Island, Seattle, WA; ** First Appearance: *'Villa Mi Casa', Caribbean Islands. First Appearance: Other Locations * Detroit, MI (Aerospace) **'First Appearance:' * Cincinnati, Ohio ** First Appearance: * Cleveland, OH * Costa Diablo, Caribbean Island ** First Appearance: . This island was nationalized and removed from Stark Industries control at this time. * San Diego, CA * Chula Vista, CA (Rapid Transit Machinery) * The Works in Ventura, CA * Stark Enterprises Marin County Facility - North of San Francisco * Meridian Island, South Atlantic Ocean ** First Appearance:(and heavily damaged in ) * "Nuke U" in Southern California * Geothermal Institute in the Mojave Desert ** First Appearance: * Seattle, WA * Omegaville solar-powered town near Citrusville, FL * Miami, FL * Dallas, TX * Houston, TX (refinery) * Sugar Land, TX * London, England * German Division, Berlin, Germany ** First located int the Western sector of Berlin, i.e. West Berlin. *** 1st Appearance: * French Division Paris, France ** 1st Appearance . * Stark Industries Far East Division, Hong Kong **'First Appearance:' * Spain * Lenigradsky Prospekt, Moscow * Lakani Island (Pacific) ** First Appearance: *** Lakani was the Division that first employed Anthony Stark's later friend and confidant the original Guardsman: Kevin O'Brien. * Manila, Philippines * Slorenia * "Deep Stark One", Pacific Ocean * Arctic bunker Subsidiary companies and branches * Accutech Research & Development * Askew Electronics * Barstow Electronics * Cordco * Donahue Corporation * Funtime Incorporated * Geffen-Meyer Chemicals * Okle-Cola * Pendyne Incorporated * Smart Green Technologies * Stark Bio-Film Research * Stark Heavy Industries * Stark Insurance * Stark Light Time Computing * Stark Meditech Center * Stark Robotics * Stark Super Dynamics * Maria Stark Foundation * Maria Stark Memorial Children's Hospital located at Avengers Tower * Stark Solutions * Stark Heart Foundation * Stark Substance Abuse Counseling Clinic located at Avengers Tower Technology Developed * Lightweight Mortars - Tony Stark provided lightweight mortars to the US Army in for use in Vietnam. They look suspiciously like M-79 Grenade Launchers. * Jet-Powered Roller Skates - Collapsible skates that can be clamped to the sole of a boot with an ordinary skate key and are driven by miniature transistorized motors. They were developed for use by the US Military. It was envisioned that an entire infantry division equipped with these could transport itself along the highway at up to 60 mph without the use of trucks. Demonstrated to the US Army in . * Atomic Naval Cannons - Designed to fire a nuclear salvo more than 500 miles, revolutionizing battleship firepower. (Mentioned in ) * Flesh-Healing Serum - Serum that closes any open wound in two seconds with synthetic liquid tissue. (Mentioned in ) * Radiation Resistant alloy - Material capable of resisting radiation for use in space capsules. (Mentioned in ) * Burp Guns - .50 Caliber sub-machine guns capable of firing explosive cartridges at rates of up to 1,000 spm. (Mentioned in ) * Disintegrator Ray - Flashlight-sized device capable of projecting a ray that could instantaneously vaporize a two-foot thick section of reinforced concrete wall. Prototype demonstrated to the US Army in . * Y-69 Rocket - An experimental three-man rocket first tested in . * Anti-Gravity Ray - Experimental device capable of negating the effects of gravity around whatever its beam hit. Was powerful enough to lift an entire factory off of its foundation! Demonstrated to the Department of Defense, then stolen by the Black Widow in . The only working model was destroyed by Iron Man. * Observer Missiles - Remotely controlled missiles equipped with surveillance equipment. Used by the US Military to take pictures behind enemy lines in Vietnam in . * Uranus II Rocket - seen in . * Moon Missile - Prototype rocket seen in . *'Mangler Missile' - Anti-Missile missile attaches itself to an enemy missile, taking control of it. First tested in . *'Mini-Submarine' - A one-man scout sub that can out run and out flank almost any torpedo. First tested by Iron Man in . Destroyed during battle between Iron Man and Attuma. *'Jupiter Landing Vehicle' - code named JLV for use on the surface and gravity of the planet Jupiter. Debuted in . Employees Current * Tony Stark - Founder, CEO * Owen * Arno Stark * H.E.L.E.N. * Numerous unnamed employees Formerly * Adams - Labor Union Representative * Felix Alvarez, COO * Bill - Security * H.O.M.E.R. - Highly advanced AI; conducts research * Abraham Zimmer - Researcher, co-designer of HOMER * Bob - Assistant * Cal - Medical * Calvin Baxter - Construction Worker * Charlie - Security * Charles Gray - Security * Chuck * Dan - Stock Market Analist * Doreen - Technician * Evans - Technician * Frank - Technician * Frankie Majors - Electronics * Gayl - Secretary * Geoff - Executive * Gregg - Security * Harry - Security * Jack - Security * Jasper Sitwell - S.H.I.E.L.D. Liaison * Jim - Security * Joe - Construction Manager * Joe - Security * Joe Liebowitz - Cryonics * June Duncan - Assistant * Kendricks - Stark Tower Doorman * Kenny - Designer * Lee - Personnel Manager * Mac - Security * Mark Cushing - Operation: Gengineering Project Manager * Mike - Pit Crew Mechanic * Nastassia - Technician * Parker - Worker * Pete - Security * Ralph - Security * Reg - Biotech * Sam - Security * Tom - Security * Dr. Erica Sondheim - Medical Division * Dr. Su Yin - Medical, Hong Kong Branch * Sun Tao - Unknown * Toshiro Kanada - Southeast Asia Plant Manager * Philip Grant - Software * Vic Martinelli * Victoria Snow - Cincinnati Plant Manager * Mrs. Rennie - Secretary * Bill Segrist - Rail Yard * Happy Hogan - Tony Stark's Chauffeur; Personal Assistant; Trainer * Anton Vanko - Head of Electrical Research * Mark Scott, Employee of Detroit Division * Donald Birch - Head of the New Products Division * Veronica Benning - Physical Therapy Division * Jane Foster, special medical consultant to Stark * Gregor Shapanka - Research scientist * Abe Klein * Krissy Longfellow - Secretary * Yvette Avril - French Division * Morley Erwin, founder of Circuits Maximus * Clytemnestra Erwin * Marcy Pearson * Garrison Quint - Security * Bert Hindle - Legal Counsel * Artemus Pithins - Public Relations * Eddie March * Maximilian Stone - Geothermal Research * Margaret Dillon - Special Consultant on Psychology * Pepper Potts - CEO, COO * Bambi Arbogast - Unknown * Bethany Cabe - Head of Security * James Rhodes - Liaison to the U.S. Government * Marc Kumar - Public Relations * Scott Lang - Electronics, Head of Security * David Campbell - Unknown | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = * While Tony Stark's company first appeared in , it wasn't identified with a name until , in a panel where giant signboard in front of the building identifies the company as "Stark Industries." * Stark Enterprises absorbed Stane International in from CEO Justin Hammer. | Trivia = * Prodigy and Victor Mancha both auditioned for the position of Head of Security at Stark Industries. Beetle also did, but with the intentions of getting the position in order to get close to Tony Stark and kill him. | Links = }} Category:Companies